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Thoughts on Proposition 8
Oct. 8th, 2008 01:12 pmATTENTION EVERYBODY--
As a resident of California, I want to make everyone aware of a particular proposition that is up in the polls this coming November. It is titled rather innocuously as "Proposition 8."
Let me tell you, there is nothing innocuous about it. If passed, this proposition will change the California State Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only.
Here is my disclaimer: This contains fact; it also contains my personal opinions, and I do not expect everyone to agree with them. If you do not believe what I have posted here (and I don't blame you; I think getting information for oneself is absolutely necessary), I have linked to the No on 8 and the Yes on 8 sites below for people who want information from direct sources.
Let it be known that this proposition flies in the face of a recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in California. This proposition will negate the California Supreme Court by overturning its ruling. As if the state's Supreme Court judges do not know the law and have the capacity to interpret it. ETA: Click here for a good argument against this section of my post.
This proposition made it on the ballot by paying signature gatherers to get petitions signed. I volunteered months ago to gather signatures for keeping the proposition off the ballot, and one of my supervisors told me about a signature gatherer from the other side who found out what the petition was actually for and immediately threw it in the garbage. This worries me a great deal, because if those signature gatherers did not know what they were passing around, how in the world could all of the people signing the petitions understand what they were agreeing to?
One of the current commercials for Yes on Prop 8 is declaring that the Supreme Court went against the will of four million voters. And here is a direct quote from the Yes on Prop 8 site: "It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people." As if the will of any voter is part of a Supreme Court ruling. Decisions made by the Supreme Court do not involve a democracy vote of everyone in the state.
Proposition 8 will remove the rights of many California citizens, rights that should be granted to everyone equally, regardless of gender, gender identity, race, and sexual orientation.
If the state constitution is changed, it will take years, possibly decades, to change it again.
Let's remember our history: There was a time when interracial marriages were banned simply on the basis of undesirable race mixing. There was a time when women were denied the vote simply because they were female. Both of these forms of limitation are now legally considered unacceptable. But there are STILL people in our country and in the state of California who are American citizens, but are denied the same rights as other American citizens simply because they happen to be attracted to the same sex, or to both sexes.
The last time I checked, America was a country that is supposed to separate religion from government. And while there were four million voters who apparently voted yes on a similar proposition in 2000, what of the people who voted no? And what of the eight years that have passed since that first vote? Here is a quote from the ballot argument against Prop 8: "PROPOSITION 8 MANDATES ONE SET OF RULES FOR GAY AND LESBIAN COUPLES AND ANOTHER SET FOR EVERYONE ELSE." Even if you do not approve of gay marriage, think about the fact that Proposition 8 will officially make certain Americans into "lesser Americans": those with most but not all of the rights that other Americans have. In a country that is based on freedom from tyranny, there will still be people who are under that yolk. Is that a state or a nation we can be proud of?
Those of you who are Californians and can vote, please vote against Proposition 8. Those of you who are not registered to vote, please register. It's not hard to do. There are probably people in front of the grocery stores and shops you frequent who are more than willing to give you the forms and help you through the process. Those of you who are not Californians, please spread the word to the Californians you know. This proposition is a terrible, closed-minded idea, and it must be stopped before it paves the way for other similar laws that will remove more human rights.
Of course, do your own research. I don't expect you to take my post here as gospel. But please visit this site for more information: No on Prop 8. And please, please help to keep the state of California from taking a huge step backward on the road toward equality.
As a resident of California, I want to make everyone aware of a particular proposition that is up in the polls this coming November. It is titled rather innocuously as "Proposition 8."
Let me tell you, there is nothing innocuous about it. If passed, this proposition will change the California State Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only.
Here is my disclaimer: This contains fact; it also contains my personal opinions, and I do not expect everyone to agree with them. If you do not believe what I have posted here (and I don't blame you; I think getting information for oneself is absolutely necessary), I have linked to the No on 8 and the Yes on 8 sites below for people who want information from direct sources.
Let it be known that this proposition flies in the face of a recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in California. This proposition will negate the California Supreme Court by overturning its ruling. As if the state's Supreme Court judges do not know the law and have the capacity to interpret it. ETA: Click here for a good argument against this section of my post.
This proposition made it on the ballot by paying signature gatherers to get petitions signed. I volunteered months ago to gather signatures for keeping the proposition off the ballot, and one of my supervisors told me about a signature gatherer from the other side who found out what the petition was actually for and immediately threw it in the garbage. This worries me a great deal, because if those signature gatherers did not know what they were passing around, how in the world could all of the people signing the petitions understand what they were agreeing to?
One of the current commercials for Yes on Prop 8 is declaring that the Supreme Court went against the will of four million voters. And here is a direct quote from the Yes on Prop 8 site: "It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people." As if the will of any voter is part of a Supreme Court ruling. Decisions made by the Supreme Court do not involve a democracy vote of everyone in the state.
Proposition 8 will remove the rights of many California citizens, rights that should be granted to everyone equally, regardless of gender, gender identity, race, and sexual orientation.
If the state constitution is changed, it will take years, possibly decades, to change it again.
Let's remember our history: There was a time when interracial marriages were banned simply on the basis of undesirable race mixing. There was a time when women were denied the vote simply because they were female. Both of these forms of limitation are now legally considered unacceptable. But there are STILL people in our country and in the state of California who are American citizens, but are denied the same rights as other American citizens simply because they happen to be attracted to the same sex, or to both sexes.
The last time I checked, America was a country that is supposed to separate religion from government. And while there were four million voters who apparently voted yes on a similar proposition in 2000, what of the people who voted no? And what of the eight years that have passed since that first vote? Here is a quote from the ballot argument against Prop 8: "PROPOSITION 8 MANDATES ONE SET OF RULES FOR GAY AND LESBIAN COUPLES AND ANOTHER SET FOR EVERYONE ELSE." Even if you do not approve of gay marriage, think about the fact that Proposition 8 will officially make certain Americans into "lesser Americans": those with most but not all of the rights that other Americans have. In a country that is based on freedom from tyranny, there will still be people who are under that yolk. Is that a state or a nation we can be proud of?
Those of you who are Californians and can vote, please vote against Proposition 8. Those of you who are not registered to vote, please register. It's not hard to do. There are probably people in front of the grocery stores and shops you frequent who are more than willing to give you the forms and help you through the process. Those of you who are not Californians, please spread the word to the Californians you know. This proposition is a terrible, closed-minded idea, and it must be stopped before it paves the way for other similar laws that will remove more human rights.
Of course, do your own research. I don't expect you to take my post here as gospel. But please visit this site for more information: No on Prop 8. And please, please help to keep the state of California from taking a huge step backward on the road toward equality.
